Healthy Eating

Healthy eating starts by making informed food choices. Choosing a variety of nutrient-rich foods as the foundation of what you eat can help you live a longer, healthier life. Tufts experts keep you up to date on everything from shopping for the best meats, fish, fruits and vegetables to nutrition-smart food preparation and more.

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Vitamins & Supplements

The best way to get the nutrients your body needs is by eating a balanced diet. But it's not always easy to meet your daily requirements of certain nutrients from food alone. Tufts experts separate the facts from the hype on supplements. You'll find unbiased information on vitamins like B-complex, C, D and E, supplements like omega-3 and lutein and essential minerals like magnesium and potassium and how they can protect or, in high doses, even harm your health.

Exercise & Mobility

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercise can prevent weight gain, help you lose weight, reduce your risk for chronic diseases, even improve your mood. There are many ways for older adults to include physical activity and promote mobility. You'll discover in-depth ideas for protecting your mobility and independence, and receive the latest news on joint health, inflammation, and healthy bones.

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Healthy Heart

A healthy heart is essential to remaining active and full of energy. Protecting your heart is easier than you might think. Taking steps such as limiting certain fats and including "good fats" that improve your cholesterol can reduce your risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. You'll learn about the most important steps you can take to ensure a healthy heart from the experts at Tufts.

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Healthy Mind

Understanding how our brain functions is related to what we eat is an emerging area of fascinating scientific discovery. Learn how certain foods and nutrients affect cognition, and get the facts about brain-boosting foods such as green tea and dark chocolate so you can live the most mentally healthy lifestyle possible for years to come.

Healthy Aging

Feeling fit and well will help you get the most out of your everyday life as you age. Tufts experts will give you the knowledge to manage your health and offer tips on to increase your energy and maintain your independence. Stay on top of the latest health research to get the most out of life.

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The Facts about Gluten-Free Eating

Gluten-free diets are popular, but it is unclear how helpful they may be for most people.

There are many gluten-free whole grains to choose from to enhance the nutritional quality of a medically-necessary gluten-free diet (including amaranth, teff, buckwheat, red quinoa, millet, and brown rice, above).

The gluten-free foods market has exploded in the past decade. It is important for people following or considering a gluten-free diet to know the facts.

Gluten Sensitivities:Gluten refers to a family of proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. Gluten proteins give dough its elasticity. For the approximately one percent of the population with celiac disease (a genetically-based autoimmune reaction to gluten) following a gluten-free diet is essential to health.

Data suggest that approximately ten percent of people feel they have sensitivity to wheat, even though they do not have celiac disease. “There is a condition known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS),” says John Leung, MD, an allergist, gastroenterologist, and director of the Center for Food Related Diseases at Tufts Medical Center. “Patients present with no evidence of celiac disease in blood tests or biopsies, but they report their gastrointestinal symptoms improve with avoidance of gluten.” However, a large review of studies surprisingly found that most people who follow a gluten-free diet for self-diagnosed NCGS do not actually develop any symptoms after eating gluten. “A recent study published in the journal Gastroenterology provides evidence that many people who think they have gluten sensitivity may actually be reacting to fructans, short-chain carbohydrates found in wheat, onions, and a number of other plant foods,” says Leung.

Around twenty percent of consumers who follow a gluten-free diet do so because they consider it a healthy lifestyle option, but there have been no major studies on the use of a gluten-free diet for general health benefits or for weight loss. “Gluten-free diets may potentially help people move toward a healthier dietary pattern because they prohibit refined wheat products and the added sugars found in many wheat-rich foods,” suggests Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Editor-in-Chief of Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, “but few health benefits may occur if gluten-containing foods are simply replaced with white rice and other refined starches.”

The Gluten-Free Diet: For those with celiac disease, following a gluten-free diet involves more than just avoiding wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. “Breads, pastries, baked goods, cereals, and wheat pastas are common gluten-containing foods, but processed foods may contain gluten-containing additives like malts and unprocessed wheat starch,” says Nicola McKeown, PhD, a scientist at Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, “so gluten may be hiding in foods like granola bars and salad dressings.” Minimally processed fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and animal proteins are naturally gluten-free, as are a number of grains such as buckwheat, corn, and rice. For processed foods, gluten-free labels can help identify safe choices, although many products are not marked, so learning what to look for on ingredient lists is important.

Some scientists are concerned that replacing gluten-containing foods with gluten-free refined starches may increase risk for nutrient inadequacy. “Processed gluten-free foods, such as gluten-free cookies or snack foods, are often made from unfortified or unenriched rice, tapioca, corn, or potato flours,” says McKeown. “This means they lack certain nutrients (like iron, folic acid, and other B vitamins) that are found in whole grains and typically added to commercial wheat flour. These types of processed gluten-free foods also may be of low nutritional quality, as they are often high in calories, sugar, and sodium, and low in fiber.” Since many processed gluten-free foods are made with rice flour, there is also some concern about over-exposure to arsenic-contaminated rice when following a gluten-free diet. Additionally, data from a recent study in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics suggest gluten-free processed foods may be more expensive than their gluten-containing counterparts. Replacing gluten-containing foods with naturally gluten-free whole grains (like brown rice, corn, buckwheat, and quinoa) instead of processed gluten-free products should improve the nutritional quality of a gluten-free diet.

While it is possible to construct a nutritious gluten-free diet, this diet should not be undertaken without expert nutritional guidance. Also, other illnesses can present with similar symptoms. “Patients often associate gastrointestinal symptoms with food, however not all gastrointestinal symptoms result from food intolerance or hypersensitivity,” says Leung. “Sometimes there can be an intrinsic gastrointestinal disorder causing the problem, forexample chronic pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, or other gastrointestinal diseases.” People who think they are sensitive to gluten should speak with their healthcare provider before beginning a gluten-free diet.

Take Charge!

Avoid gluten-containing foods if you have been diagnosed with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity.